Vistry Group, a major British housebuilder, announced significant profit cuts and losses totaling £661.3 million for the first half of 2023, compared to a profit of £40.9 million in the same period last year. The company attributes these issues to unsold homes worth £600 million, reduced private home sales, and increased costs due to inflation from global events like the Iran conflict. New CEO Adam Daniel outlined a plan for recovery that includes reducing operations to 12,000 homes per year, cutting jobs by 350 since July, and focusing on more affordable housing projects across different regions in Britain.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-24,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Vistry, one of Britain's largest housebuilders, reported significant pre-tax losses of £661.3 million for the first half of 2023, compared to a profit of £40.9 million a year earlier. The company attributed this decline to a £475 million writedown and a provision of £73.2 million related to building safety after the Grenfell Tower tragedy. In response, Vistry's new CEO Adam Daniels announced restructuring measures that include reducing regional operations from 25 to 12 regions and exiting private home sales in the South East of England. These changes will lead to further job cuts among its workforce of around 4,150, with about 350 workers already leaving since the summer due to a voluntary redundancy program that saved £25 million earlier this year. Vistry also anticipates additional cost savings and has lowered its full-year profit forecast to approximately £165 million from an initial estimate of around £475 million, reflecting ongoing challenges in the UK housing market.
Written for “Vistry Profit Forecasts Cut” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Vistry Group, one of Britain’s biggest housebuilders, has slashed its annual profit expectations after half-year losses ballooned as it grappled with a £600m pile of unsold homes.
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it → slash → homes
Adam Daniel, the new chief executive of the Bovis Homes and Countryside owner, insisted that “the issues can be fixed”, as he set out a detailed turnaround plan that involves pulling out of private sales in south-east England and slimming operations to turn Vistry into a more focused, 12,000-homes-a-year builder.
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that → insist → builder
Further job losses loom, however, after Vistry announced new cost savings of £50m, on top of a £25m voluntary redundancy programme and hiring freeze earlier this year.
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Vistry → loom → programme
It said it reduced its workforce to 4,150 at the end of July, with 350 people leaving since the summer, according to PA.
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people → say → PA
The company is closing some regional offices, moving from 25 to 12 regions.
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company → close → regions
Vistry reported a loss before tax of £661.3m for the first six months of the year, versus a profit of £40.9m the year before, dragged back by a £475m writedown and a £73m provision for building safety works.
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Vistry → report → works
For the year as a whole, it now expects to post an adjusted profit before tax of £165m, after making an adjusted loss of £83.3m in the first half, far worse than expected.
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it → expect → half
The company completed 6,304 homes, down by 8% from a year earlier.
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company → complete → %
After resorting to steep discounts to sell a £600m pile of houses it is now left with £220m of unsold properties.
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it → resort → properties
In July, it said the average discount offered to homebuyers was 7.1%.
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discount → say → homebuyers
Half-year revenues fell by 9% to £1.7bn while Vistry’s debt jumped to £468.8m from £293.1m.
Vistry blamed “disappointing summer sales of private homes” and withdrawals or renegotiation of deals to build affordable homes.
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Vistry → fall → homes
It has also been hit by cost inflation of 3% to 4% as a result of the Iran war, which has driven fuel prices sharply higher.
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which → hit → prices
In August, the company received £350m funding from the government to construct 3,000 affordable homes, the largest slice awarded under the £39bn social and affordable homes programme, and is one of 33 strategic partners that take part.
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that → receive → part
Vistry said it had already started building those homes.
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it → say → homes
Daniels, who took the helm in April, laid out a measures such as reducing the land bank from 51,000 to 36,000 plots and a reorganisation of the business, simplification of product range, brands and operating processes, and greater exposure to the north, Midlands and west of England.
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who → take → England
Daniels said: “We have made substantial progress in refocusing the business and delivering on our immediate priority to improve cash generation.
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We → say → generation
In parallel, we have now completed an extensive review of our business and operating model including how best to position the group for future success.”
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we → complete → success
The Vistry share price plunged more than 8% in early trading.
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price → plunge → trading
Victoria Scholar, head of investment at interactive investor, said: “The housebuilder has been faced with macro headwinds from this year’s energy shock leading to cost pressures, weaker affordability and consumer confidence amid the higher-for-longer interest rate backdrop.
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housebuilder → say → backdrop
“Shares had already had a painful run lately, shedding close to 60% year-to-date before this morning’s further sharp slide, underscoring the challenges at hand for its boss and the need for a drastic turnaround.”
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Shares → have → turnaround
The Aporia
